Your reaction and/or other people's reaction to Sputnik?

Question

I'm doing a project on Sputnik, and I'll be needing some different views on how people saw it, i.e. as a threat or something else?

Just want to know the different reactions to Sputnik.

Answer 1

I remember standing with my father in the backyard listening on the shortwave for the beeps and looking up to see if we could catch a glimpse when the sun reflected off the silver body of the satellite. Even today when I spend time on our ranch far away from the lights of civilization I can see other satellites orbiting and I always think of that night with dad and the other family members. There was also a feeling of vulnerability because the sworn enemy of the US was able to get there first. Hope this helps!!

Answer 2

I was excited because I thought it was the first step into space and people would be able to go to Mars and beyond in my lifetime. I was surprised that most Americans saw it as a threat not a scientific advance. I remember some people saying we should shoot it down totally ignorant of the fact that shooting it down required a more advanced technology than putting it in orbit in the first place.

Answer 3

America especially the president saw it as a threat because Europe was showing a more advanced technology then the US. It enacted all of the space programs and was the reason for the first landing on the moon. NASA was created as a direct result.

Answer 4

I was amazed and excited. I didn't see it as a threat, but that was because I was too young to understand what orbiting bodies could mean to the world. In fact, I dare to say that nobody understood the implications at the time. Certainly, virtully nobody realized that communication networks, scientific research stations, etc would ever exist as they do today.